How Do You Feel About Buying A Foreclosure?

Who’s your average foreclosure buyer? A single man under age 35, if you put together a composite of characteristics revealed by a recent survey. Trulia.com, a residential real estate search engine, commissioned Harris Interactive to poll people about how they feel about foreclosures. More than 2,000 people answered survey questions. The poll found that 60 percent of single or never married adults would consider buying a foreclosure, whereas only 50 percent of married and 50 percent of divorced/separated/widowed adults would buy one. More men (57 percent) would buy a foreclosure than women (51 percent). Nearly 70 percent of adults ages 18-34 would buy a foreclosed property compared with 32 percent of adults older than 55. Having children makes people more likely to buy a foreclosure (66 percent versus 50 percent of childless households). Interestingly enough, while young people 18-34 are open to buying a foreclosure, nearly 75 percent of them feel there are negative aspects to buying a foreclosed home. Only 66 percent of people older than 35 feel that way. And 20 percent of those surveyed feel that having a personal connection with someone who lost their home to foreclosure is a negative aspect. There’s still some stigma attached to losing your home to foreclosure. But is there a stigma to buying a foreclosed home? I don’t think so. You’re just taking advantage of a good financial deal.